From the Penedès (Barcelona), Familia Torres defends the fight against climate change in our country, adapting its activity, reducing emissions and influencing the rest of the sector. In addition, it promotes regenerative viticulture, a paradigm shift in the management of vineyards to convert them into carbon sinks. The family business, which has been producing wine for five generations, promoted the Torres & Earth program 16 years ago to adapt and decarbonize its production, in which it invested 21 million euros, and co-founded the international associations Vineyards for climate actions (IWCA) and Regenerative Viticulture in Spain. The company’s goal is to become a net-zero emissions winery by 2040 and be an example for the rest of the sector.
Few companies are part of such a long-term approach as that of wine. Doing it since the 19th century and always as a family, has allowed wine business also being a pioneer in the recovery of ancestral pre-phylloxera varieties, a research project that the winery undertook 40 years ago to recover the wine heritage of Catalonia and which today allows it to better adapt to climate change , since some of these strains, in addition to presenting great oenological potential, they are more resistant to high temperatures and drought.
For this leadership and commitment to sustainable development, in addition to the quality of its wines and the strength of its brand throughout the world, Torres family was awarded this year as the most admired wine brand in the world, according to the British specialist magazine Drinks International, based on a survey carried out among around a hundred professionals in the sector. In the 14 editions of the ranking, Torres has been number one 7 times and has never fallen below fourth place.
Much more than a brand
For many professionals in the sector, Familia Torres is more than a brand, as its president, Miguel A. Torres, likes to point out. “It’s a family of more than 150 years and five generations, passionate about wine and viticulture.” And he adds: “What differentiates our brand is precisely our heritage as a family winery and our commitment to excellence, innovation and sustainability.” The patriarch adds that “we led the fight against climate changeby adapting and mitigating its effects, but above all by raising awareness and promoting collaboration between wineries around the world to face this threat.
This perseverance and determination was not lost on TIME magazine, which named Miguel A. Torres one of the 100 most influential people leading climate action around the world. The TIME 100 Climate list, first released in late 2023, includes grocer in the “Innovators” category, being the only wine producer to appear in the ranking and one of four Spanish entrepreneurs.
Familia Torres has reduced its CO2 emissions per bottle by 37% in 2023, compared to 2008, from vineyard to consumer, and recognizes that achieving Net Zero in 2040 and a 60% reduction in 2030 as an intermediate goal requires a major effort , it is therefore essential to have a transition plan towards decarbonization.
Plan to achieve Net Zero
The plan is a detailed roadmap that establishes fourteen science-based and measurable initiatives, some of which represent a transformation in the way vineyards are managed and wines are made. In addition to the firm commitment to self-production of energy from renewable sources, the plan provides, among other measures, for the replacement of diesel tractors with electric tractors, the implementation of regenerative viticulture in its own vineyards and its suppliers, the reuse of glass bottles and the capture of CO2 from wine fermentation to reuse it as an inert gas.
The winery has already achieved 55% energy self-sufficiency in Pacs del Penedès thanks to the energy generated by its solar panels and biomass boiler. It also has a purified water regeneration plant which allows it to reuse 45% of it.
The international association Vineyards for climate action Familia Torres co-founded it in 2019 with California-based Jackson Family Wines to promote the decarbonization of the sector worldwide with the help of wineries truly committed to the fight against climate change. Today, it has more than 150 affiliated wineries, belonging to 50 wine companies from 12 countries that represent more than 2% of the world’s wine volume.
In addition, Familia Torres promoted the Regenerative Viticulture Association in 2021in collaboration with Clos Mogador, Can Feixes, Jean Leon and AgroAssessor, to bring about a paradigm shift in vineyard management through the implementation of regenerative viticulture, and there are already more than 110 partners from 9 countries.
Increasingly advanced harvests are a harbinger of what is to come with climate change. Familia Torres has adopted regenerative viticulture to mitigate the consequences of the climate emergency thanks to the capture and fixation of atmospheric CO2 through plant covers, while recovering the natural fertility of the soil, slowing its erosion and promoting biodiversity. For this family of winegrowers and winemakers from Penedès, it is a “holistic conception of the land that imitates nature and creates natural ecosystems”, which is why three years ago they began the gradual reconversion of their organic vineyards and have already transformed more than 600 hectares. .
